What Do Singaporeans Think About Their Mother Tongues? | Word On The Street

We all know it's compulsory for all us Singaporeans to study their mother tongues in school but to what extent are we proficient in them? So, we took to the streets to find out if Singaporeans are indeed losing touch with their second languages.
Word On The Street is the latest series on TSLTV where our host, Fauzi, goes around asking Singaporeans about anything and everything that's happening in Singapore!
Follow @thesmartlocaltv on Instagram for some hilarious behind-the-scenes footage!
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Credits:
Host: Fauzi Aziz
/ mynameisfauzi
Sound & Editing By: Asyiqin Musta'ein
/ aqyqueeen
Filmed By: Natasha Conceicao
/ nat.lc
Business Enquires: [e-mail]

[@frostyace]

0:39 when he says "Tamil" with an Indian accent

[@puiyen94]

ikr hahaah when he hesitates at mandarin but got the indian accent on point lmao

[@melvinyan97]

Frosty Ace eh thanks ah appreciate it

[@thirumukilan3492]

Yeah ! He say correcly

[@edl9263]

OMG!I love the editor!When you asked smile to the boy,he smiled and 'Hard Carry' from Got7 song played!Ofc,the rest of the video was really enjoyable!!!

[@dingdingding7480]

yesssss omg

[@edl9263]

haha,ahgase?

[@an.n]

IKR! and twice and joongki? it was so fast haha

[@lishaa4914]

SO PROUD OF BEING AN IGOT7!!😭😭😭

[@velvetyroses]

Lmao this is exactly what Lee Kuan Yew feared. Despite the implementation of compulsory Mother Tongue classes, this video shows that the objective isn't achieved yet. I think it is mainly contributed by home/family environment. Great job, TSL!

[@platoze]

L. Hasna Singaporeans back then used to speak many languages; my Cantonese grandfather used to speak Cantonese, Hokkien, Hakka, Teochew, English, and Malay fluently!

[@dannylamb456]

Considering how easily his son and fellow politicians dropped it all to be "inclusive" and "globally connected", I'm glad he's rolling in his grave.

[@uhhacaiberry6119]

OMG HARD CARRY

[@dingdingding7480]

YES

[@xinghui4470]

YESSSSS

[@sugarcoatedlovee]

sorry but when hard carry came out, damnnnnnnn

[@dingdingding7480]

vOMGGGG IKR

[@chey4596]

I speak English, Chinese and Spanish and a little bit of conversational Malay and I'm a bit surprised that a lot of these Singaporeans don't really speak their MT?

[@emmanuelsaga6826]

Hypocrite

[@flamingo9197]

oml 95% of the comments are just talking about hard carry HAHAHA

[@joventjh9661]

IGOT7 WHERE DAFUQ R U

[@kpoptrashmuch6737]

HEREE WOO!

[@joventjh9661]

astro fan too😂😂😂

[@joventjh9661]

im eunwoo biased

[@lukiepookiex]

me too!!! #leedongmin

[@victoriatang6746]

YES AROHAS

[@kpoptrashmuch6737]

i was so shook when hard carry came out,bless me.

[@chickenricem9888]

Fauzi's shirt looks like one of those worn in Nazi concentration camps

[@jimw8615]

Indeed. Good spot

[@meisjas]

i relate with the malay guy that talked about learning speaking mandarin bc tbh its hARD to communicate sometimes 😂

[@jing6940]

ILYSM TSL (hard carry😏)
WHERE ARE MY BABY BIRDSSS/AHGASAE/아가새??

[@jiayimemories9129]

thank you editor😊 for the part of GOT7 Hard Carry love TSL videos 🙆💕👍

[@annatsukiya]

Kudos to the video editor~!!
The interview become more fun to watch with that edits.. xDD

[@puiyen94]

the malay guy on the right cute leh

[@thelias91]

Do you find weird that most of Chinese in Singapore refer Mandarin as “mother tongue” instead of “2nd/vernacular language”? And refer their real heritage languages just as dialects?

[@aidahcloudy5499]

when hard carry came out i laughed too hard HAHAHAHA

[@teolishi]

hard carry해 ! so sudden😁
👦👍 #HardCarry2ndWin

[@jacksonismine5986]

THAT HARD CARRY PART FKING GOT ME

[@shannonlim6455]

that random hard carry in the background!! I'm curious abt who in tsl likes kpop considering that it's a recent song

[@mitzilynn5612]

i wish i can speak hokkein / cantonese but my chinese alr cmi so...

[@geoffreymosiol3961]

I literally speak my mother tongue like my mother's language and dialect which is Mandarin and Hakka but my dad's language (Kadazan) not so. But I think the environment one live in will shape their proficiency

[@gasun1274]

oho oubat no

[@exosonyeo]

get that recognition GOT7

[@ChloeCeption]

THE SUDDEN MOMENT YOU HEAR HARD CARRY "Am I Dreaming?"

[@NoyumiAo]

My mother tongue skills have been reduced to basal conversational mother tongue but I've always been into anime and Japanese songs and all of that good stuff, so sometimes I can find words to express myself in Japanese, but not Chinese.
Smh.

[@kerrilynyong771]

omggggg got7 !! love the editor !!

[@liliesandtulips91210]

fauzi looked so impressed with their answers HAHA but good video!

[@jimw8615]

We will lose our roots in Singapore soon.

[@jianxiongRaven]

I feel sosad tbh . Thts y I trying to inprove my Chinese . Even though not bad for me

[@syarh95]

TVXQ? No? Only Me? Ok.. #FanOfTVXQ

[@PixterBoyz]

damn, who are those two Sg Hunks at 0:36! would love to get their numbers!

[@janislim0925]

Waa the last advice actually quite useful!

[@kelp2243]

i think parents should speak their mother tongue to their child and their dialects as well cause they will speak english in school

[@99charactersilike]

the sad reality when our second languages are slowly diminishing

[@tanishkasingh4353]

What's the song at 1:59?

[@rickken6823]

Mandarin not MT for spore chi except newly arrive mainland

[@rizell2004]

Love it!

[@audreyrawrs]

OMG HARD CARRY HEH I LUV IT

[@shabirahhisham6328]

I guess I wasn't the only one that started singing when hardcarry song came out. HAHAHHA

[@purpleluvmusic]

usually it's either you're good at English or your mother tongue. rarely both.

[@estherrrr_r]

but I'm good at speaking when it comes to cantonese n I'm only 10

[@titleyuchan7683]

Malay is too hard for me bUT OMG HARD CARRY IM DEAD BYE THATS ONE OF MY CURRENT JAMS

[@musicmylife2298]

Malay is hardddddddd carry hey xD okay bye

[@titleyuchan7683]

MusicMyLife 👏👏👏👏 I APPROVE 😂😂😂😂

[@puiyen94]

THAT HARD CARRY

[@Iffah99]

i flipped when i heard hard carry

[@corlissgwee3111]

got7 hard carry!

[@selvams9412]

do some food challenges.do more challenges plsss love u guys😚😚😘😘😙😗😗😍

[@atiqahayunir.3567]

GOT7 STANSS WHRE U ATT

[@veronicalee0255]

HARDCARRY OMG😍😍

[@patriot4786]

Sad to see Malay kids in Singapore dont know how to speak bahasa melayu...

[@99charactersilike]

time to reflect on ourselves

[@KONFUS3D]

Is it weird to listen to a lot of non-malay songs but you are Malay?Cuz I listen to some Chinese songs and Korean songs but never Malay...oml i feel bad

[@fayye4748]

Aliah Ah me too

[@azriena1008]

Lol me too

[@emily080596]

wow... this is kinda sad but it's true that a lot of youngsters in this generation cannot speak their native languages anymore. :(

[@nurulaqirah6811]

damn!!! Got7 Hard Carry omgg

[@BeachBoi1000]

When gossiping... five stars answer.

[@miramoo123]

that microphone 😂😂😂😂😂

[@nattyb7507]

HARD CARRY EH

[@imsupriya1999]

i wish malaysia mandated studying our mother tongues in school. my biggest regret is not picking up tamil/malyalam/mandarin from either sides of my family

[@omarali4590]

Supriya Sivabalan I thought primary school in Malaysia is in mother tongue?

[@belle_pomme]

@@omarali4590 It is not mandatory, only bahasa Melayu and English are mandatory at school

[@omarali4590]

@@belle_pomme but there are chinese and tamil vernacular public schools

[@aidahrazali1512]

Understanding that Boyanese felt like a gold star for me

[@sanhashine]

"HARD,CARRY EH" //DABS//

[@yuling3040]

HARD CARRY EHHHHH

[@leo3109]

Early squad where you at! Legend has it that if you're early, TheSmartLocal will reply.

[@Cappellano]

I’m Singaporean living in the UK and I can only speak English. Which is awkward because I clearly look Malay and people always expect me to speak the language.

[@Cappellano]

ya itu benar

[@phy3039]

omg hard carry

[@hrhktaka]

oh darn. im utter crap at mt, so much that i got exempt from mt:)

[@eve6880]

Wait so can fauzi speak malay??

[@omarali4590]

As a non-Singaporean I would say it is crucial for you to learn your mother tongue, since your mother tongue is your actual native language. English should be just used as a medium of communication with other ethnic groups but not as a language you speak within your family or community. Singaporeans should be proud of their real roots and stop getting westernized, Westerners will never accept you as native English speakers anyway.

[@keijiproject5554]

Fauzi... 😲😲😲😱 you can speak france

[@rachelquek9117]

Always filming at Orchard 😬

[@n_4444na]

yo whats chengson' s insta... he cute

[@immashe]

all them ahgases freaking out😂

[@lynntuan721]

rip i have this lowkey crush on that ' kpop dude ' HELLO NOTICE ME IF U SEE THIS WE'RE SO SIMILAR

[@puiyen94]

same

[@suetkoonlai6359]

Pui Yen b

[@damntwice9493]

OMG TWICE 😂😂

[@shernel_]

the guy saying hokkien words
then say "hOkKiEn" with pride

[@bariqi3565]

90% comments Got7 And hardcarry
10% this comment

[@lish9zsw4g81]

hi fauzi

[@kw9689]

HARD CARRY GOT7!!

[@yuennew3387]

many people hate chinese because they find it very hard to understand/learn and among my frens they know that poly dosent need to take chinese so they just totally give up in chinese and dont listen during chinese lessons

[@SuSu-ql9tz]

Lots of accents, sometimes I have problems to understand them. ^^°^^

[@mikechan1894]

The problem is that most SIngaporeans use English (or Singlish) as their primary language. Their English isn't that great. Even Lee Kwan Yew regretted his two language policy towards the end.

[@ivanmendes9233]

That dude: Singlish is a mix of Chinese, English and everything else. Oh! well, gotcha, but not.

[@glennchua9823]

Hi

[@undeniablypeachy]

bahasa pasar, my mum calls it.

[@josephhow8433]

walau got leng girl in wan her insta

[@patriot4786]

2:35 ohh wong Jowo rek?

[@MutianiShawolMVP]

iyo ee wong jobe tibak e

[@patriot4786]

@@MutianiShawolMVP iya. Katanya ibunya dari pulau Bawean dan keluarganya dari Jawa. Jaman dulu banyak orang Pulau Bawean migrasi ke pulau Singapura

[@skyline4599]

0:49 ആരെങ്കിലും മലയാളം എന്നു പറഞ്ഞോ? 😁😁😁😁😁

[@fayye4748]

I would love to study japanese lol

[@kylielau4216]

hARD CARRY HEY !

[@veryslayverynice2526]

HARD HARD HARD CARRY CARRY

[@ainidh2052]

Bonjour Ça va bien💕

[@ainidh2052]

Bonne nuit!

[@user-bv9ls4nd5l]

GOT7 BGM THO

[@arfahazieraarman]

#hardcarry2ndwin

[@adrianohjr93]

what i feel is that dialects are dying off not our mother tongue

[@blabla1426]

lol my Chinese is second language and I hate MT lesson the most. So boring haha. Chinese usually I get B but also marks drop already. For other languages like cantonese and hokkien, my parents and grandparents and elders always speak it, so honestly I feel it's kinda cool and want to learn haha. But the languages I want to learn the most are Korean and Japanese. Otakus, Armies, and Exo-L's where you? 😂✋🏻

[@ameliachua7751]

I don't do Chinese because I have Exemption and that I have Dyslexia

[@_JuuuJooxx_]

GG my teochew, korean and english better then my chinese my chinese CMI 😂😂😶😶#sorrynotsorry #busypaiseh

[@kadajlim]

Full pledged Cantonese girl is d hottest in this video~
#brainMatters

[@aidilhakimmazlan9611]

Bahasa Jiwa Bangsa

[@lillycottonear]

Is that Megan...

[@umarmatyaacob5989]

The singaporeans already forgetting their root, like a russian proverb said "чтобы расти, надо держаться корней".

[@amirafiq2465]

who even watches Suria channel...

[@mdkh4ikmal615]

Me lol

[@nasirroslan6291]

Amir Afiq Azmi i still do lol

[@LoveTaylorSwift7]

I LOVE HOW THERE ARE SO MANY COMMENTS ABOUT HARY CARRY ey kpop stans